According to an analysis of the National Centre of Biotech Information, adults and children with nail-biting suffer from psychiatric disorders. Nail-biting adults suffer from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder(74.6%), oppositional defiant disorder(74.6%) and anxiety[20.6%].
Causes of nail-biting are impatience, frustration, stress, more concentration. Nail-biting also leads to major depressive disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Treat now to avoid facing health issues later.
Upgrade your health care practices to protect from negative effects of fingernail biting like fungal infections of nail plates, stomach aches, illness due to bacteria transfer from fingers to face and mouth, and misaligned teeth. Fingernail Biting must be avoided to protect yourself from COVID-19. Nail-biting not only maximizes the risk of infections but also damages the health of cuticles. Few healthcare practices to prevent fingernail biting and develop patient’s healthcare experiences are -
Prefer a stress ball
Engage in alternative activities like squeezing a stress ball to keep hands occupied with the benefit of hand exercising.
Apply bitter-tasting juice or nail polish as habit reversal practice
Juice of bitter gourd or karela applied on nails frequently is advisable.
Trim your nails from manicurists to protect from Onychophagia, the clinical term for fingernail biting disorder.
Consider alternative behavior
Keep yourself occupied to avoid nail-biting. Replace your habit of nail-biting with another habit such as writing, eating, and speaking with someone.
Journaling practice
To stop nail-biting, identify the triggers, and then control it. Spotting the situations, recognizing the feelings, places, and even noticing people that cause your nail biting is advisable. Note these down. Control them for beneficial health outcomes.
Develop your cognizance
To prevent fingernail biting, a combination of will-power to quit biting fingernails and awareness of unintentional biting are essential as habit reversal practice. Developing awareness when unintentionally biting fingernails and preferring the nail-biting treatment by identifying the causes is advisable.
Cognitive-behavioral therapy[CBT]
For the CBT nail-biting treatment, a therapist will counsel you to notice unhelpful behavior and replace them with relatable behavioral patterns. Few CBT sessions are effective depending on the fingernail biting frequency.
Consult your family doctor, if you notice symptoms like fungal nail infection, swelling around nails, nail discoloration, nails stopped growing, and bleeding. Revitalizing your healthcare to prevent fingernail biting is essential now to protect yourself from the COVID-19 pandemic.
